Access to Frontline Care Act

Access to Frontline Care Act

Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) introduced the Access to Frontline Care Act of 2017 (H.R. 2042) in the U.S. House of Representatives. If enacted, the legislation would authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a Frontline Providers Loan Repayment Program under which HHS would make student loan repayments in exchange for health professionals providing two years of service in a health care facility serving a frontline scarcity area. Frontline areas are specifically defined by the federal government as having a shortage of health practitioners or having a shortage of frontline care services. Audiology services are specifically included in the legislation as frontline care services, recognizing the important role that audiologists play in the delivery of health care.